Warrior Art, Painted Caves, Flint-knapping, Mammoths ...and More

OAS MEETING: TUESDAY, APRIL 5, 7:00 PM AT OMSI
“Recounting Days of Glory: Plains Indian Warrior Art” is the topic of the April 5, 2011 Oregon Archaeological Society lecture. Dr. James Keyser is the featured speaker.

Keyser has conducted rock art research across western North America including projects in Alberta, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. He also has an ongoing research interest in European rock art in France, Spain, and Italy. He is a member of the Science Advisory Committee for the Study of Chauvet Cave (France), and is listed in Who's Who in Rock Art. Prior to retirement, he served for 27 years as a regional archaeologist for the U.S. Forest Service. He maintains faculty affiliation with the University of Montana and has more than 150 archaeology publications of which more than 100 concern rock art, robe art, or ledger art.

The presentation is at Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) at 7:45 PM, and is free and open to the public. The talk is preceded at 7 PM by a general business meeting, which is also open to the public

See www.oregonarchaeological.org or call 503-727-3507 for more information.

JEAN AUEL BOOKSIGNING AT THE OAS MAY MEETING

As you've probably heard by now Jean Auel has released a new book "The Land of Painted Caves"! Jean has tentatively agreed to come to the May OAS meeting to sign copies of her new book (if she's back from her intergalactic book launch tour).

OAS will have a few copies of the new book that you can buy at the meeting or you can bring your own.

We'll make another announcement later in April to confirm (or reschedule) the booksigning.

Read a great Oregonian article about Jean Auel at: "Where I Write: Jean M. Auel..."


OAS PRESIDENT DEMONSTRATES FLINT-KNAPPING AT FORT VANCOUVER

Dennis Torresdal, OAS President, was featured in a recent Columbian article titled "Flint-Knapping Fun". Dennis, an expert flint-knapper, created fine blades, projectile points...and a lot of debitage during a well-attended exhibition at the Fort.

Read all about it at: Fort Vancouver Flint-knapping









WENAS CREEK MAMMOTH EXCAVATIONS: LECTURE APRIL 11

Monday, April 11, 6:30 PM, Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center, 990 SW Rock Creek Dr., Stevenson, WA, Patrick Lubinski, Wenes Creek Mammoth.

Lecturer: Patrick Lubinski, Professor of Anthropology, Central Washington University.

The 2005 accidental discovery of a mammoth bone near Selah, Washington led to a six- year investigation by Central Washington University, providing a glimpse into life during that time. In addition to 16,000-year-old mammoth and bison bones, students and faculty have found human-made artifacts of unknown age that could shed new light on the early presence of people in Washington. Lubinski will summarize the project and its findings using bone casts, PowerPoint images and video. .
http://www.humanities.org/programs/speakers/current-speakers/inquiring-mind-speaker-patrick-lubinski

As this is an evening event the Interpretive Center will be closed. After you turn north on Rock Creek Drive from Washington SR14 look for the employees entrance/parking lot on your right (less than 1/2mile). If you get to Skamania Lodge Road or the main entrance to the Interpretive Center you have gone too far.

For more info: Patrick Lubinski

CENTER FOR JAPANESE STUDIES HOSTS PSU TALK MAY 19
May 19, 6PM PSU Smith Memorial Hall 238 presentation by DR. Ho Tae JEon (Harvard University) "Koguryo tomb murals and Japan in Ancient East Asian Funeral Arts" sponsored by the Portland State Center for Japanese Studies.

$10,000 FINE LEVIED..."NO, IT'S NOT COOL TO DEFACE NATIVE ROCK ART
Read more: Rock Art Fine

Huckleberries, New Auel Book, Chauvet Film...and more!

OAS MEETING THIS TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 7:00 PM AT OMSI
“From the Mountains Beyond: The Archaeology of Huckleberry and Cedar in the Southern Washington Cascades” is the title of the March 1, 2011 lecture sponsored by the Oregon Archaeological Society. Rick McClure, the Forest Archaeologist and Heritage Program Manager for Gifford Pinchot National Forest, will discuss the record left by Lewis and Clark regarding the many resources—including plant foods--they encountered and their cultural significance to local Native peoples.

Some of these resources were from the surrounding uplands - the mountains beyond - areas managed today as national forest system lands. The presentation will take a closer look at several specific resources, beginning with descriptions from the pages of the expedition journals, and moving to the archaeology of the mountains beyond, to investigate traditional land use practices in the period 1805-1806.

The presentation is at Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) at 7:45 PM, and is free and open to the public. The talk is preceded at 7 PM by a general business meeting, which is also open to the public See www.oregonarchaeological.org or call 503-727-3507 for more information.

CLARK COUNTY MUSEUM HONORS OAS MEMBER RICHARD REAY

The Clark County Historical Museum threw a party on Jan. 19 for Richard Reay, who has volunteered there for a decade. He didn’t want any fuss, so the museum made it a surprise party. “Richard made himself indispensable to staff, other volunteers and visitors alike with his can-do attitude, endless patience, attention to detail, and encyclopedic knowledge of our reference library as well as the last 10 years of museum history,” a museum press release stated. “In a word, Richard is irreplaceable.”

Read more at: Richard Reay Honored

JEAN M. AUEL'S NEW BOOK TO BE RELEASED MARCH 29, 2011!
The highly anticipated sixth book of Jean Auel’s Earth’s Children® series, The Land of Painted Caves, is the culmination fans have been waiting for. Continuing the story of Ayla and Jondalar, Auel combines her brilliant narrative skills and appealing characters with a remarkable re-creation of the way life was lived more than 25,000 years ago.

See more about the book and read free chapters at:
The Land of Painted Caves

See Jean Auel talk about her new book on video: Painted Caves Interview

And here's a "trailer" for the book...


CHAUVET CAVE FILM TO BE RELEASED!
Werner Herzog's new film "Cave of Forgotten Dreams" is a stunning 3D documentary about the cave in France that is home to the world's oldest known human art. The film, which includes appearances by Dr. Jean Clottes, is scheduled to be released in March.

So far no schedule for showings has been released, but stay tuned!

Read more at: Herzog Chauvet Interview

More about the film: Herzog website

...and here's the official movie trailer...


OREGON TRAIL/ANTELOPE RIDGE WIND FARM UPDATE
Over the past week I learned that Portland-based Archaeological Investigations Northwest Inc. (AINW) is the firm doing the archaeological research and analysis on the wind project. This is encouraging because AINW is a very good and highly respected firm...but keep in mind that AINW (like any archaeological consulting organization) is only in a position to analyze and recommend things to the various regulatory agencies that have the real decision-making power that will determine the fate of the Oregon Trail in the project area.

According to Terry Ozbun, Senior Archaeologist at AINW...
"AINW is conducting cultural resource surveys for the Antelope Ridge Wind Energy Project to provide information for appropriate protections of historic and archaeological resources during the project planning process. For over a year now, the project developer has been working closely with the Oregon-California Trails Association (OCTA) and with the Oregon Historic Trails Advisory Council (OHTAC) to formulate plans for avoiding impacts to the Oregon Trail. This collaboration was proactively initiated by the developer and has been productive and sincere. All of the parties are working very hard to find a way to develop wind energy and, at the same time, protect the Oregon Trail, along with other important cultural resources.
The project's permit application is available online at http://www.horizonwindfarms.com/western-region/under-dev/antelope-ridge.htm and I would also be happy to field questions that OAS members may have about the project." You can reach Terry at: terry@ainw.com.

I encourage you to let your elected officials and representatives of the regulatory agencies (see my previous email for details) know how you feel about protecting the Oregon Trail for future generations.

ENDANGERED PLACES LIST STARTED BY LEAGUE
The Historic Preservation League of Oregon is creating a most endangered places list for Oregon. The list will be an annual register of those historic buildings, and sites, and districts, and structures, and landscapes that need a little extra attention in order to make it to the next phase.

You can submit a nomination until March 21. While a diversity of places will be selected, historic significance, the nature of the threat, and the potential for local support will be considered during review process. The inaugural list will be announced in late May, after which the league will actively support the selected places through partnerships and direct assistance.

For more information and a nomination form, visit www.historicpreservationleague.org

That's all for now. Let me know if you like the new eNews format (mike@instantiations.com).